Analysis of Marrysong Dennis Scott Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Marrysong Dennis Scott Essay Then Scott having to ‘chart’ – suggesting the creation of a map in order to discover his wife, this emphasises the exploration of this ‘new-found-land’. The poem suggests an unsure attitude, as we see in the first line, ‘year after year’ we don’t know whether this suggest a long, drawn out relationship that could become dull, or whether this means he is happy, and the year after year suggests commitment. Time takes a prominent role in the poem, with what is described as ‘year after year’ is then shortened to passing ‘seasons’ then shrunk still to an ‘hour’ until the shifting of moods becomes sudden, ‘suddenly she would change’. This suggests confusion within the relationship for Scott, as the changing of her attitudes becomes unexplainable and undetectable. This unpredictability leads us to the point of the heavy use of ‘enjambment’ in the first five lines, painting a vivid picture of uncertainty for Scott; conversely, as the poem progresses, we see a much more structured approach. On the contrary, the poem as a whole is generally lacking in structure. The constant use of caesurae, which breaks lines using pauses, denoted by commas and full stops. Also, the stutter of ‘[a]ll, all’’ disrupts the flow of the poem much like the punctuation mentioned. This disruptiveness also contributes to the uncertainty of Scott within the marriage. However, as we approach the concluding lines of the poem Scott evokes a discovery of certainty. He says ‘accepting her geography’ and stating that he ‘wondered’ which maybe suggests that he has no need to wander anymore. This final couplet also features a rhyming final two lines, which suggests stability and an atmosphere of certainty. The oxymoronic use of ‘jaunty helpless journey’ suggest that Scott is at his lover’s mercy; this is significant, as the whole poem conveys the idea that the woman dominates the relationship, and that Scott is exploring her and trying to figure her out. At the beginning of the poem we see that Scott says that she is under control by saying ‘under his eye’, this oxymoron features near to the end of the poem and, with numerous time frames being described in the lines between these two phrases, seems to suggest that after all this time he still has not been able to work her out or even gain control of their relationship. Conversely, this contrasts with the following two lines in which Scott is stated to have figured her out ‘find his way among the landscapes of her mind’. The fourth line, ‘in the walled anger of her quarried hurt’ takes a prominent role within the poem. The use of ‘walled’ and ‘quarried’ suggests an inescapable ‘territory’ into which Scott seems to be stuck. ‘Quarried’ also suggests that Scott is trying to unearth her personality, with ‘walled’ being the defensive behavior with which he does this. Love is a dangerous unreliable territory seems to be one of the main themes evoked by the poem. We see that Scott is continuously trying to gain power in the relationship. This seems to be unobtainable throughout the poem, however the title in itself reveals a childlike innocence about Scott; ‘Marrysong’ isn’t really a word, and sounds like a word a child would make up. It also evokes the bewildering nature of love and the complexity of marriage. Ovid: Ars Amatoria 1. 469-78 states that ‘dura tamen saxa’ (nonetheless, hard rocks) ‘molii cavantur aqua’ (are hollowed out by soft water). At one stage of the poem Scott states that one can see ‘cool water laughing where the day before there were stones in her voice’ – Scott maybe saying that the water hollowed out the rocks and overcame the rocks to make way for love. Furthermore, in relation to territory, Ovid states that ‘capta vides Pergama sero capita tamen’ (You can see that Troy was captured after a long delay, but she was captured in the end) relating to Scott claiming that his lover’s logic is like a territory needing to be explored, and the references of time relate to Ovid stating that Troy was captured ‘after a while’.

Performance Audit of China

Performance Audit of China Performance Audit China EMPIRICAL REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE AUDIT IN CHINA AND DEVELOPED WESTERN COUNTRIES AND MEASURES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF PERFOMORNACE AUDITING WORK IN CHINA INTRODUCTION OF THE DISSERTATION The performance audit is a recent expansion in audit scope within these 30 years. Now it is one of the most important and flourishing areas for government audit work in China. The aim of this dissertation is to give a holistic and comparative review on the rising and development of performance audit in Western Countries and China, study the challenges faced by audit institutions in China, and give recommendations and suggestions to audit institutions in the development of performance audit from a scientific and development point of view. This dissertation has five parts: The first chapter will begin with the rising of performance audit in Western Countries and the definition coined by International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (hereinafter referred as INTOSAI). A comparison with performance evaluation or performance monitor will be made, and the relationship between performance audit and other forms of audit, such as financial audit, environmental audit and management audit will also be reviewed. In the second part, it will give a holistic view of the performance audit in China National Audit Office (hereinafter referred as CNAO) and audit institutions at all other levels, from the rising of performance audit in China, to legal mandate, to the audit objects and areas which covered, to the audit focus of performance audit. In the third chapter, the current status of performance audit in UK, USA, Canada and Sweden will be scanned. The legal mandate given, the audit areas covered, audit methods employed, the resource allocation will be reviewed and compared. The advanced experience in the performance audit area will be concluded. Chapter 4 of this essay is an investigation of the challenges faced by government audit in China in performance auditing. The risks in political system and macroeconomic environment will be discussed. The interior flaws such as the lack of competences of auditors, the shortage of standard or guidelines will also be talked about. In the last chapter, suggestions and recommendations in how to improve performance audit in the context of current China will be given from both the macro and micro aspects. The Desk study based on a review of the literature is deployed. A large number of books and articles about performance audit manuals, annual reports and handbooks produced by SAIs of some developed countries and China will be categorized and analyzed. INTRODUCTION OF PERFORMANCE AUDIT The Rising of Performance Audit in Western Countries As one of the oldest and venerable state functions, audit has a history of thousand years. However, the performance audit has risen and become a large scale and self-consciously distinct practice within the latest thirty years. It is a modern, challenging and fascinating form of audit, and is treated as a separate and professional activity that requires specialized skills and standards. Over almost exactly the same period as performance audit has emerged as a distinct variant of audit, the government of developed countries, such as Western Europe, United States of American, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom, have embarked upon series of public management reforms, which is so called ‘New Public Management’. ‘Most of the public management reform initiatives emphasized a shift from control of imputes and processes to the new form s of control based on the measurement of outputs and outcomes.’ (Christopher Pollitt et al, Performance or Compliance, P195). Previously, the administrative system emphasized on the correct allocation of public finances to appropriate budget lines, the compliance of the use of resources, and conformity of actions with prescribed procedures. The new approaches aimed at modernizing and streamlining the public management process, and giving more flexibility in respect of inputs. Although the details of the reform programs differed from one country to another, most of them highlights on: firstly, increasing the productivity of public services, i.e., raising efficiency; secondly, the convenience and preferences of its users; thirdly, the transparency of public services, which is assumed as a feature of democratic governance. Both singly and collectively, these new attributes considerably changed the ways in which public management system has been run in the past. To adapt to the new system, the major priority of monitoring and control was shifted from the values of economy towards the value of efficiency and effectiveness and emphasized more on the monitoring and evaluation of outputs and outcomes. The auditors should not only stress on the ‘three Es’ (economy, efficiency, and effectiveness), but also using creative methodology to access to responsiveness and user satisfaction by directly consulting them. They should also devote to the safeguarding of public accountability and assurance. Due to the diversity in mandate and scope of the audit, in the United States, this new form of audit is called ‘performance audit’, while in the United Kingdom, it is labeled as ‘value for money audit’ (VFM audit). ‘Comprehensive audit’ is what is called in Canada. Definition of Performance Audit This definition can be provided in many ways. It can be given by clarifying the distinction between performance audit and other related forms of audit, or by mandates and organizational framework which define the performance audit work done, or simply by describing what different SAIs do when they say they are conducting performance audit. The most widely accepted definition is the one coined by INTOSAI: ‘The full scope of government auditing includes regularity and performance audit’, and ‘Performance auditing is concerned with the audit of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and embraces: (a) Audit of the economy of administrative activities in accordance with sound administrative principles and practices, and management policies; (b) Audit of the efficiency of utilization of human, financial and other resources, including examination of information systems, performance measures and monitoring arrangements, and procedures followed by audited entities for remedying identified deficiencies; and (c) Audit of the effectiveness of performance in relation to achievement of the objectiveness of the audited entity, and audit of the actual impact of activities compared with the intended impact’. (INTOSAI’s Auditing Standards, 1.0.38 and 1.0.40) Within this definition, not only ‘three Es’, but also ‘sound administrative principles’, ‘good management’ are referred as criteria for judgment. In the definition given by the Australian National Audit Office, ‘legislative and policy compliance’ is also been taken as one of the consideration for performance audit. In the Auditing standard of The Government Accountability Office, which was revised in 2007, performance audit objectives may vary widely and include assessments of program effectiveness, economy, and efficiency; internal control; compliance; and prospective analyses. As described in the Performance audit manual of Office of Audit General of Canada, the scope includes not only the examination of three Es, but also environmental effects of government activities, procedures to measure effectiveness, accountability relationships, protection of public assets and compliance with authorities. The Relationship between Performance Audit and Regularity Audit In accordance with the INTOSAI auditing standards, ‘the full scope of the government audit includes regularity and performance audit’. The regularity audit emphasizes on attestation of financial accountability and probity and propriety of administrative decisions. Its core activity is to verify information, whereas the major task of the performance audit is inspection and evaluation of the government programs and organizations. For some countries, performance audit differed from the traditional audit in the way they are managed: the traditional audit is usually carried out in a standardized way as a repeated annual cycle of ‘checking the books ’, performance audit, on the contrary, is organized as serial of individually tailored projects varied in their scope, length and focus. The Performance audit is an independent examination made on a non-recurring basis. Specialized skills, separate standards, special planning, and special reports are required. Another difference between the two types of audit is the extent of standardization. The Performance audit, in comparison to financial audit, has a lower level of standardization in terms of both auditing methods and contents. Within its legal mandate, performance audit must be free to examine all government activities from different perspectives. Thus, the performance audit is more flexible in the choice of subjects, audit objects, audit methodology and making recommendations. Moreover, in financial audits, auditors will tend to judge the transactions being ‘correct ‘or ‘incorrect’, ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’, so the criteria the auditors used is relatively clear and fixed. However, for performance audits, the criteria is chosen is normally open and sometimes, formulated by auditors. In spite of above mentioned differences, in audit practices, the line between these two types of audit is not always clear. For instance, the audit of a financial management system can be both a process in traditional audit and performance audit. Practical examples from some SAIs also show the same result. Comparing Performance Audit with Performance Evaluation Both performance evaluation and performance audit are viewed closely related as external forms of analysis and assessment of the programs or organizations. Performance evaluation is a systematic study of how well a program or policy is working and what can be done to improve its results. It is typically commissioned for the purposes defined by the commissioners to provide in a program management cycle. In recent years, the program or policy evaluation is deemed as an important work for a SAI under a general heading of the performance audit, according to the study result of a working group on program evaluation, ‘it seeks to analyze the relationship between the objectives, resources, and results of a policy or program.’ GAO of the US defined four common types of program evaluations in performance audit, which are process evaluation, outcome evaluation, impact evaluation and cost –benefit cost- effectiveness evaluations. PERFORMANCE AUDIT IN CHINA History of Government Audit in China The auditing supervision system in China can be traced to the beginning days of the dynasties. As early as Western Zhou Dynasty, about 3,000 years from now, an official position named as Zaifu was established with the function of performing audit duties and regarded as a rudimentary form of auditing in China. In modern China, after the 59 years after the founding of People’s Republic of China, the audit work in China went through two different stages. First stage was from 1949 to 1982. No formal and independent audit institutions were established in the first 30 years. The supervision of state financial revenues and expenditures was mainly conducted by internal supervisory bodies of Departments of Public Finance. During that period, the central government and some local governments set up audit institutions within the financial departments and assigned audit personnel to carry out the audit work. However, it was not long that the financial inspection institutions. The second stage started with the provision of formal audit supervision since 1983. The full scale implementation of reform and open-up policy called for efforts to strengthen the supervision on financial administration, establish and improve economic supervision mechanisms. In December 1982, the 5th Plenary Session of the 5th National People’s Congress adopted the resolution to introduce an auditing system in China. The new Constitution made a general provision for the role, mandate, basic principle and administrative system for the audit work. In September 1983, the National Audit Office of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the CNAO) was established. Local governments at all levels above county level also set up their local audit institutions in succession. The Audit Law of the People’s Republic of China was formally promulgated in August 1994, which was an important milestone in the audit legal system building. An audit supervision system with Chinese characteristics was built up. Since the establishment of the audit institutions, audit supervision made great contribution to the rigorous enforcement of financial and economic disciplines and has played an irreplaceable role in facilitating healthy development of the national economy, promoting the building of a clean government. As the supreme audit institution of China, the CNAO is a department of the government and directly under the leadership of the Premier. ‘Its main duty is to formulate the audit strategy, organize and administer audit work nationwide and reports its work to the State Council. Local audit institutions, under the dual leadership of the administrative heads of their corresponding level governments and the audit institutions at their next higher levels, organize and manage the audit work within their jurisdiction. Their audit work is mainly under the direction of audit institutions at the next higher levels, and they are legally required to report to their corresponding level governments as well as the next higher level audit institutions in keeping with the principle that independence is an indispensable feature of a successful audit.’ Audit directly conducted by the CNAO covers the following areas: (Audit Law, Article 18 to 25) ‘ Under the leadership of the Premier of the State Council, exercise supervision through auditing over the implementation of the budget of the Central Government as well as other revenues and expenditures, and submit audit reports thereof to the Premier; Revenues and expenditures of the Central Bank, assets, liabilities, profits and losses of central monetary institutions; Carrying out audit supervision over the financial revenues and expenditures of public institutions of the State and other public organizations using fiscal capital Revenues and expenditures of central government owned enterprises and enterprises where state assets dominate or predominate; Revenues and expenditures related to funds managed by relevant departments of the State Council; Revenues and expenditures of projects with loans and assistance from international organizations and foreign governments. ’ During the past 25 years, audit work in China has made great strides forward and scored remarkable achievements. Audit supervision has become an important and indispensable part of the national supervision system. The social impact of audit is becoming steadily stronger. The Rising of Performance Audit in China Vigorously launching performance audit is an important task set by both the Strategic Plan of the Development of Audit Work for 2003 to 2007 and the one for 2006 to 2010. It is a major move for audit institutions to implement the scientific outlook on development, to comprehensively perform their duties in accordance with law, and to vigorously push forward the building of resource-saving- type society, as a response to the summon of the central government. In the history of the CNAO, finding problems of violation of laws and regulations and of embezzlement and corruption is always considered the most important role. However, with the development of social economy and democracy, there is another problem worthy of notice. That is low value for the use of funds and losses and wastes, due to faulty decisions and maladministration .This kind of problem does not often attract too much of the people’s attention. But, in fact, it would bring about much more serious harm than embezzlement and corruption. Take ‘Image Project’ for example, the construction of project would take up a large amount of Funds of public finance, and yet, it is unable able to bring about benefit to the lives of the ordinary people and it also in no way plays a role in accelerating the economic constructions across the whole nation. Actually, it is just a kind of waste of resource According to the statistics of IMF (World Economic Outlook Database, International Monetary Fund, April 2008), until the end of 2007, GDP per capita of China has reached US$2,360. Moreover, in the most vigorous economy developments area, east provinces in China, GDP per capita has reached US$6000, which means this area had crossed the threshold of initial stage of modernization. From the historical perspective of the development of international government audit, US$3,000 GDP per capita represents the stage of rapid development of performance audit practices in the advanced west countries, such as Sweden, United Kingdom, during the 60 to 70s of the 20th century. Such a period is also a time prone to social contradictions and problems and in particular, a crucial time characterized by quick changes in the form of economic growth in the economic system and speedy social reconstruction. The Chinese government is making great efforts in self-improvement and strength public administration. Accountability and performance are the key elements and areas of the concern in the concept of modern public administration. It has been aware that the work and accomplishments of the government still fall somewhat short of what circumstances require and the people expect. The functions of government have not been completely transformed and public administration and public services are still weak. Some government departments have been overlapping responsibilities, their powers and responsibilities are not well matched, some try to shirk their responsibilities, and their performance is poor. The problems of formalism and bureaucratic behavior are fairly common, and fraud, extravagance and waste are quite serious. Oversight mechanisms and checks on government authority are not strongly expected. Performance audit is also the inevitable necessary outcome in the promotion of democracy and the rule of law. The citizens are more and more concerning the public administration issues, and paying more attention on the transparent and efficiency on the use of public fund. As an independent oversight institution, the CNAO was attached with great importance on the supervision of the shifting of government functions to a more energetic public management and social services, and the gradual transformation of the government from the traditional mode characterized by managing everything by itself, to a government with limited functions, which is more transparent and accountable and service-oriented. Current Status of Performance Audit in China The Article 1 of Audit Law, which came into effect on 1 June 2006,gave the legal authority of audit institutions for the implementing of performance audit. It says ‘Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution, with a view to strengthening State supervision through auditing, maintaining the fiscal and economic order of the country, improving the efficiency in the use of government funds, promoting the building of a clean government and ensuring the sound development of the national economy and society.’ (Audit Law, Article 1) However, even before the promulgation of the new amended audit law, the performance audit practices have existed in China since the beginning of 90s of twentieth century: The first stage is from the beginning of 90s to the middle of it. During that time of period, the performance audit was mainly carried out for the performance outcomes of state- owned enterprises. According to statistics, in 1984, the very next year the audit insinuations at all levels were formed, during the process of traditional financial audits for 1263 enterprise, economy and efficiency of these enterprises draw attention of the auditors. Among the financial impact of the auditing findings of 3 billion RMB Yuan, nearly 1 billion was caused by the less economic and efficient use of funds. It was stated in the Annual National Audit Work meeting in 1991 that ‘audit institutions at all levels should identify some large- or medium- sized stated-owned enterprises as regular auditees. The audit scopes not only include the truth and fairness of financial revenues and expenditures, but also extend to the test of internal control and performance outcomes. Proper audit evaluation should be made to improve the economic efficiency’ (The Memo of Annual National Audit Work Meeting, 1991). Statistics show that during the ten years after the formation of CNAO, the total financial impact of the performance audit to these state- owned enterprises totaled to 21.1 billion RMB Yuan. From the middle of 90s, the performance audit in China turned to a brand new stage. At this stage, the audit scope shifted from the state-owned enterprises to the major investment projects funded by the government. The emphasis of the audits is put on the economic benefits to the efficiency and effectiveness of these projects. During this time, the performance audit practices were conducted during the audit of major investment projects such as the project of Conversion of Farmland to Forest, the Fund Use of Migration in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, and the Construction of Airports. With the implementation of performance audit methodology, it was not only the problems but also the root causes of these problems were revealed, which had a profound impact in the society. The criteria on the selection of audit topics are: The projects which are heavily invested by the government and great attention were paid by the national congress and the taxpayers. The availability of the resources in terms of the competences of auditors and budget; The timeliness which are closely relevant to the current public administration reform. As well, audit institutions, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State, carry out supervision through auditing the principal leading persons of government departments and of other units as to compliance about the financial revenues, expenditures and the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of relevant economic activities of their districts during their terms of office. This is a type of comprehensive audit which integrates the compliance and performance audit. From January to November of 2007, the total input in terms of human resources in audit institutions at all levels had amounted to one quarter of the total, which is ten percent higher than the same period of last year. Among the 30 audit projects launched by the CNAO, half of them were performance audit projects, which covered the major infrastructure investments at a national level such as South-to-north Water Transfer Projects, special funds on Disaster Rescue, and projects financed by foreign governments and international agencies. Besides, Performance evaluation is also integrated in the traditional audit areas, such as budget implementation audit. Hereby, the volume of performance audit work amounted to two thirds of the total of the CNAO, also showed a ten percent rise in comparison to 2006. (The Memo of Annual National Audit Work Meeting, 2008) The focuses of these performance audit projects are not only to disclose the improper policy decisions, the waste in public expenditures and infrastructure projects, but also to reveal the details in information security, the quality of constructions, environmental and ecological protections. Only within the 11 months from January to November in 2007, the financial impact on waste amounted to 27.1 billion RMB Yuan, and accordingly the investment on construction was reduced by 29.1 billion RMB Yuan. CURRENT SITUATION OF PERFORMANCE AUDIT IN UK, USA, CANADA AND SWEDEN With the intent of giving a picture of the performance audit framework of the above four countries and making a comparison with Chinese National Audit Office, the performance audit mandates, the audit scope, the resources employed and the audit criteria deployed of and by these SAIs will be investigated in this part. Performance Audit in UK The National Audit Office (NAO) of United Kingdom has existed in its present form since 1983, but the public audit function in United Kingdom central government has a much longer history and used to be taken by the former Exchequer and Audit Department. NAO is independent from the government and works on behalf of the Parliament and the taxpayers to hold government to account for the utilization of public funds, provide independent analysis and assurance to Parliament and to help to improve public services performance. In UK, a value for money examination is defined as ‘the assessment of performance, identifies good practice and recommends improvements to economy (keeping costs down), efficiency (getting more output for what is spent) and effectiveness (delivering the desired results)’( Annual Report of NAO, 2008, P10), that is ‘3 E’ audit. Performance audit practice has a long history under the instruction of the Parliament, especially, the Committee of Public Accounts, however, until 1983, no statutory authority was given to this new type of audit. In 1983, performance audit has been established as a distinct form of audit through National Audit Law, which gave a new foundation for the new National Audit Office’s value for money audits. The major value for money reports produced by NAO focuses on how specific government projects, programmes and activities have been implemented. They examine the way policies have been put into effect and assess whether that represents value for money for the taxpayer. Just like Office of Audit General of Canada, no comment should be made on the policy itself. The topics under examination are identified by monitoring and analysing risks to value for money across the sheer range of government expenditure. NAO also try to keep our performance study topics flexible to accommodate emerging issues. Besides, proposals from Members of Parliament and in particular from members of the Committee of Public Accounts are also been taken careful account. Each year, around 50 values for money reports are delivered and investigated to the Parliament and the Committee of Public Accounts. ‘In 2007, NAO produced 60 value for money report, and the verified financial impacts of these reports amounted to  £656 million, an increase of  £74million over last year, which also representing a return of over  £9 for every  £1 expenditure of running the National Audit Office. ‘(Annual Report of NAO, 2008, P4) Ultimately, it is for the Comptroller and Auditor General to decide which studies should be undertaken. In terms of fund resources, about a quarter of the NAO budget, which amounted to  £25.2 million, was spent on value for money audit, delivering the main programmes of assurance to the House of Commons. In terms of human resources, 238 of staffs, out of the total 845, are employed for the value for money audit purpose. Sustainability was also a feature of other reports during the year. The report on the Thames Gateway disclosed that the Government’s vision for high quality, low carbon footprint, and sustainable developments in the region had not yet been translated into clear objectives, local strategies or developed plans. Performance Audit in USA The Government Accounting Office of United Stated was established in 1921. GAO is an independent, nonpartisan, professional services agency in the legislative branch working for the Congress, and commonly known as the ‘audit and investigative arm of the Congress’ or the ‘congressional watchdog’. GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and advise lawmakers and agency heads on ways to make government work better. After World War II GAO began to perform more comprehensive audits that examined on only the financial compliance but also the economy and efficiency of government operations. By the 1960s, GAO had begun to perform the new type of audit, performance audit, which aimed to examine whether government programs meets their objectives. In 1970, the Bureau of the Budget and GAO agreed to establish government auditing standards. In 1972, the Comptroller General issued the first edition of the Standards for Audit of Governmental Organizations, Programs, and Activities Functions, which was known as the Yellow Book. In this yellow book, GAO decided to extend its audit scope to performance audit, and defined its audit goals as: check the financial activities and their compliances with current laws and regulations; the economy and effectiveness of administration works; Furthermore, their effectiveness in reality. During the last 20 years, GAO has sought to improve accountability by alerting policymakers and the public to emerging problems throughout government. Effective July 7, 2004, the GAOs legal name changed to the Government Accountability Office. The change better reflects that GAO has become the modern professional services organization. The mission of GAO is ‘to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people’. Not like SAI in other countries, GAO is a legislative branch agency, so it is exempt from many laws that apply to the executive branch agencies. However, it generally obeys the spirit of many of the laws, including Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act, the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, and the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996. The Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act emphases ongoing evaluations and annual reports to assure the adequacy of the internal accounting and administrative control of each agency. For the seeking of improving public confidence in federal agency performance, the Government Performance and Results Act 1993 requires that ‘federally funded agencies should develop and implement accountability systems based on performance measurement, including setting goals and objectives and measuring progress toward achieving them’. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act 1996 stresses on ‘improving federal financial management by requiring that federal agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that comply with the requirements of federal financial management systems, applicable federal accounting standards, and the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger.’ In later years, GAO gave the ‘yellow book’ a more concise title, Government Auditing Standards, and updated periodically. In the latest revision of the auditing standards in December 2007, it emphases on ‘enhancing performance audit standards that elaborate on the overall framework for high-quality performance auditing, including reasonable assurance and its relationship to audit risk, and the levels of evidence used to support audit findings and conclusion. GAO performs a series of oversight-, insight-, and foresight-related engagements, a vast majority of which are conducted in response to congressional mandates or requests. GAO’s audit scope includes financial and management audits, evaluations of federal programs and performance, policy analyses, legal o

The Plague Essay -- essays research papers

The Plague   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rats did it! Rats, almost single handedly, killed off about a third of the European population throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. Its effects on western civilization still lasts today, but for the people who lived during the plagues wish indeed that they did not. Society was depressed, the economy was struggling, food was scarce, and all of Europe was in battle. Who would want to live in these dramatic conditions? No one, and not for centuries to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Plague, also known as the Black Death, or the Bubonic Plague, which struck in 1346, and again in 1361-62, ravaged all of Europe to the extent of bringing gruesome death to millions people of the Middle Ages. It was a combination of bubonic, septicemia, and pneumonic plague strains that started in the east and worked it’s way west, but never left its native home. One of the things that made the plague one of the worst was that there were outbreaks almost every ten years but still restricted to Europe. It is thought that one third to one half of the population in Europe could have possibly died due to the plague with some towns of a death rate of up to 30 or 40 percent. Very few that were infected with the plague actually survived more than one month after receiving the disease. The Black Death was an incredible event that effected everyone on a physical level, emotional level, or both. The Black Death was more terrible, and killed more people than any war in history. The plague was so horrible and terrifying that people said it made all other disasters in the Middle Ages seem like a walk in the park when compared it to the Black Death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The infested rat, called the black ship rat, was carried in the baggage of merchants on board ships traveling all over the Mediterranean. They didn't know it, but It was the people that actually spread the disease across the land. The plague spread in a great arc across Europe, starting in the east in the Mediterranean Sea, and ending up in Germany. It is incredible that the plague hit Europe several times, but still no one understood neither the causes nor the treatments of the epidemic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although the Black Death was one of the largest epidemics ever recorded, it did not have many visible symptoms. The actual symptoms varied i... ...e seen along with the cathedrals started in the 12th and 13th centuries and never finished because of the plague.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effects on the future were not as bad as the effects the 14th century people experienced. After the plague had set in on Europe and took its toll the people began to stop writing and in turn stop reading. The citizens became illiterate and showed no real interest in the arts. The European population steadily declined after 1350 for the next century. In 1351, it was calculated that the total number of dead in Europe was approximately twenty-four million people. That is a great decrease considering that there was an estimated seventy-five million people living in Europe before the Black Death struck.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Plague certainly had one of the greatest effects on the world in all areas, and was also one of the greatest displays of human suffering ever. The Plague caused the people of western civilization to lose family, food, society, and basic fundamentals of living. It seems that bad or depressing situations give us a grasp on what is really important in our daily lives, and that is what we all need.

The Internet Promotes Cultural Diversity Essay -- Exploratory Essays

The Internet Promotes Cultural Diversity When one thinks of the internet, what sorts of worlds and images do you suppose come to his mind? First of all, the hardware such as a computer screen and keyboard come to mind, followed by letters and picture and maybe even a the web-like structure to portray the information super highway. Ideas of search engines and then internet mailing and messaging systems should then occur. In the end, the overall idea is one of mass communication and informational transferences. The abbreviation that is well known to most internet use, â€Å"www.† which denotes â€Å"World wide web,† shows the obvious international applications. With respect to this understanding of its global distribution, the question arises: Will these transcontinental interactions destroy the cultural and historical diversity of style in composition? The answer is no. Despite the convergences of cultures, students who manage to make it through high school should have a basic background in the formati on and styling of a composition. These more mechanical aspects of style are rarely altered unless a new style if promoted. Mixing these historically formal styles with the new wave of information broadcasting, offered by the web, entails an alteration of style which will only promote diversity. To attack the subject of changes in cultural style, we must ask the question: Will mass communication between diverse cultures destroy cultural diversity? Defining culture becomes the next priority: culture: 1) The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought typical of a population or community at a given time. 2) A style of social and arti... ... ideas of one webpage. Referring back to the example sites listed above, and while making note of the randomness that was associated with the creation of the â€Å"clown porn† site, one can make note of the fact that even though the site was created almost as a gag, some weird people found it worth while or amusing. Practically no matter how weird something is, there is probably someone else out there that has similar beliefs. In the end, the internet cannot destroy diversity but can only promote it. The thought otherwise would imply that the entire world has access to the internet and that in some way, the internet has created a world of zombies that conform to its conquering cultural spell. In actuality, people have access to cultures and styles that they may never physically interact with; therefore, promoting a more worldly character in those people.

Sears Case Study Essay -- essays research papers

Sears Case Study Introduction The great advantage of publicly held companies is that they bring together capital and managerial expertise, to the benefit of both groups. An investor need not know anything about making or marketing chairs in order to invest in a chair factory. A gifted producer or seller of chairs need not have capital in order to start a business. When it runs well, both profit, and the capitalist system achieves its goals. Our system of capitalism has been less successful when the company does not run well. As some of America's most visible, powerful, and successful companies began to slide, they demonstrated an all-but fatal weakness in the ability of our system to react in time to prevent disaster. Managers and directors at companies like IBM, General Motors, and Sears took their success--and their customers--for granted. They took their investors for granted, too, until it was almost too late. The problem is that the strength of the system, the separation of ownership and control, is also its weakness. A shareholder's investment in a chair factory gives him certain rights, including the right to elect the directors and the right to inspect the books. These rights may have some meaning when the company is small enough that the investors number in the hundreds. But in large, complex companies, with investors in the millions, they are likely to exercise a third right, the right to sell. While some economists will argue sale of the stock sends a signficant message to management, I agree with Edward Jay Epstein, who said that "just the exchange of one powerless shareholder for another in a corporation, while it may lessen the market price of shares, will not dislodge management--or even threaten it. On th... ...illing the vacancies left by the directors "fired" in the 1991 shrinkage. Ironically, Sears was left with a board with a higher percentage of outside directors. I believe Brennan found that at least some of the extra accountability I was seeking was the result of the actions he took to stop me. Less than six months after the annual meeting, Sears announced a massive restructuring. Coldwell Banker would be sold off in its entirety, Dean Witter would be spun off to shareholders, as would 20 percent of Allstate. The market reacted to the news by sending Sears' stock up 8 percent in a single day. Changes at Sears I firmly believe that Sears' recent renaissance (STOCK PRICES) is a direct result of the increased accountability of management. I believe that Sears serves as a perfect study for the values to be generated by involved and informed shareholders.

Embroideries on Gujrat

Embroideries of Gujarat: ARI work Printing and embroidery in Gujarat reveals a cultural tradition that has evolved through centuries. Most of the best and earliest textiles were created in Gujarat. Printing and embroidery in Gujarat has a huge world market. Varieties of embroidery in Gujarat include: * Toran, the embroidered doorway decoration with hanging flaps, which is said to ventilate good luck. * Pachhitpatis, hanged from the corners as a welcome symbol to the visitors. * Chaklas, used as furniture covers. * Bhitiya, a wall hanging. Abhala, where small mirror discs are fixed with closely worked silken thread. Printing and embroidery in Gujarat is an inherent talent that passes through generations. They excel in making the following: * cholis (bodices) * gaghras (skirts) * odhnis (shawls) * bed spreads * bags * wall hanging * Variety of ornamental pieces for home decor. Source: http://www. blog. gaatha. com/? p=1467#content Ari work and its origin Once adorned by the royalties o f the country, on the sheen of silk and the softness of velvet, the designs always would stand out like a peacock on a rainy day.Of Persian motifs enthralling the costumes and wares creating a luster of luxury and elegance, the art of aari embroidery, zari and zardosi has come a long way,  since its royalty days. Ari embroidery is very old and known for its heavy work. It is done with a cobbler's stitch, which needs much skill and practice. The royal ladies of Kutch who were moved by the Persian motifs like peacock and flowers became great patrons of Ari embroidery. Rabari Embroidery is the most conspicuous work and available easily.The Kutchi Rabaris employ mirrors of different shapes and sizes. Applique or Katab is another form of decorative needlework, more pronounced in Saurashtra, it is done with pieces of colored and patterned fabric, which are nicely cut to make the motif and then stitched on to a plain background to make quilts, curtains and wall hangings. Another very imp ortant aspect of the printing and embroidery in Gujarat are the fabrics with Block Prints. They especially fascinate the foreign tourists. It is the printing of cloth with carved wooden blocks. Needles used for aari workLooking at each of these distinct patterns of work, they are created with precision and a method best known to their artisans. The Aari embroidery, a celebrated and muchadored work of Gujarat, requires not just the perfect stitch but also the understanding of the innate technique by which it is created. The thread is held with a finger at the reverse of the fabric and the  aari, an awl-like needle with a sharp point, is held on the top. How it is made: The aari is pierced through the cloth and the thread is brought to the upper side and used to secure the previous stitch.This  unique stitch, similar to the cobbler’s stitch, is repeated until the desired form is created on the surface of the fabric. The best pieces of fabrics used for this embroidery are of ten  silk or a locally made satin called Gajji. Atlash, a special silk-satin is also used for the purpose. Ari work being done on fabric Threads used Dotted with bootis of various shapes and sizes,  motifs and designs of peacocks, flowers, these embroidered sarees, suits, dupattas and traditional Gujarati ghagra-cholis find themselves to be the centre of  attention for the women across the world.Whereas, the roots of this art in India go as deep as the time of the  Rig Veda  , it prospered during the Mughal Emperor,  Akbar. And with this, came the  Persian influence, which we see in the motifs, materials and the nomenclature today. Zari Zari, a special  gold/silver thread, is often used for  aari embroidery. A fine hook needle is used to make quick chain stitches with the zari. The artisan needs to not only manoeuver the needle with a rapid hand but also make sure that this pace is withheld and is kept  standard for picking the material and meshing with the fabri c. NAKSHAPatterns cannot be directly created on to the fabrics. First, a complete and clear pattern has to be drawn on a  butter paper, designing the same is done by a naksha naviz, who only helps in creating a unique pattern. The paper is then perforated along the lines of the pattern and placed on top of the fabric. Next, the artisans, using chalk, rub the pattern over the fabric, imprinting the required design. Once this has been done, around  six to seven craftsmen take a portion  of the fabric and start the process of embroidering the zari, using a  wooden frame called the â€Å"Hadda†, â€Å"karchop† or â€Å"Khatli†- in Gujarati.

Meaning of Life and Fast Lane Essay

Good coop, bad coop situation. leave well enough alone | let well enough alone Meaning: If you leave well enough alone, or let well enough alone, you don’t try to improve or change something that’s already good enough. For example: The kids seem happy enough now so let’s just leave well enough alone and forget about finding a new school for them.? skate on thin ice- Meaning: If you’re skating on thin ice, you’re doing something risky, or you’re in a situation that could quickly become dangerous. Jockey for position- Meaning: If you jockey for position, you try to get yourself in a good position in relation to others who’re competing for the same opportunity or the same goal. let the cat out of the bag – Meaning: If you let the cat out of the bag, you let someone know a secret. You could have knocked me over with a feather. – Meaning: You can say â€Å"you could have knocked me over with a feather† to show how surprised you were when something happened, or when you heard about something. add fuel to the fire If you add fuel to the fire, you do something to make a bad situation even worse. ahead of the game You are ahead of the game if you have an advantage over your competitors in any activity in which you try to do better than others, such as in business, academia, sports, etc. all the rage Informal If something is all the rage, it’s very popular or it’s in fashion at the moment. asking for trouble If someone is asking for trouble, they’re doing something risky that could lead to a problem. itchy feet Informal If you have itchy feet, you feel the need to go somewhere different or do something different. in the long run If you talk about something â€Å"in the long run†, you mean over a long period of time. At cross-purposes If you’re at cross-purposes with someone, you think you’re both talking about the same thing but you’re actually talking about different things. at loose ends If you’re at loose ends, you feel restless and unsettled because you don’t have anything to do. a blessing in disguise You can say something is a blessing in disguise if it appears to be bad at first, but it results in something very good in the end. back to square one If you have to go back to square one, you have to stop and start again, usually because something isn’t working as well as expected. bite your tongue | hold your tongue If you bite your tongue, or hold your tongue, you force yourself not to say something you really want to to say. the icing on the cake | the frosting on the cake If something is the icing on the cake, or the frosting on the cake, it makes a good situation or a good result even better. joie de vivre If you have joie de vivre, you feel the joy of living. make hay while the sun shines If you make hay while the sun shines, you make good use of the chance to do something while it lasts. Fast friends good, loyal friends. The two of them had been fast friends since college. See also: friend fast one a clever and devious trick. (Compare this with pull a fast one. ) That was a fast one. I didn’t know you were so devious. This was the last fast one like that you’ll ever catch me with. life in the fast lane a very active or possible risky way to live. (See also in the fast lane. ) Life in the fast lane is too much for me. See also: lane, life make short work of something to deal with or finish something quickly We made short work of the food that was put in front of us. fast and furious if an activity is fast and furious, it is done quickly and with a lot of energy The first half of the game was fast and furious with both teams scoring three goals each. Ngn av dessa till din story a queer fish Meaning: If someone’s a queer fish, they are a bit strange and can sometimes behave in an unusual way. For example:Your great grandfather was a queer fish, Johnny. He used to write funny poems and then he’d read them aloud to everyone on the train on his way to work let the cat out of the bag Meaning: If you let the cat out of the bag, you let someone know a secret. For example: We’d planned a surprise party for Donna, but some guy she works with let the cat out of the bag, so now she knows.? Don’t forget that this is a secret, so whatever you do, don’t let the cat out of the bag.? †There? s an elephant in the room† – Meaning: If you make a killing, you make a lot of money from a sale or a deal of some sort. For example: My aunt made a killing when she bought some shares in a company as soon as they were issued, and sold them a few weeks later for three times what she paid.? Lots of people made a killing when property values went so high back in the nineties. †Bark is worse than his bite†, †put your money where your mouth is† – prove it.. alot of not air? all hell broke loose Meaning: You can say â€Å"all hell broke loose† if a situation suddenly became violent or chaotic. Bad news travels fast ’ â€Å"Bad news† means news about â€Å"bad† things like accidents, death, illness etc. People tend to tell this type of news quickly. But â€Å"good news† (passing an exam, winning some money, getting a job etc) travels more slowly. Least said soonest mended Possible interpretation: When we do or say something bad to someone, a long apology and discussion does not help. In such a case, the less we say the better. It’s written all over your face. If you say â€Å"it’s written all over your face†, you’re saying that the expression on someone’s face is showing their true feelings or thoughts. Group 20 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Words Relating to More Than Enough (did you get it? ) ample copious lavish myriad plethora profuse prolific superfluous surfeit Memory tips: use these mnemonics (memory devices) to boost your vocabulary. Make up your own memory clues for words in this lesson that are personally challenging. Add these tips-and your own-to your Vocabulary Notebook. Copious let yourself see the word copies within copious, and think â€Å"lots of copies. † Certainly â€Å"lots of copies† leads to the defining ideas of abundant and plentiful. Plethora Let the ple lead you to plenty. When you write plethora in your Vocabulary Notebook, underscore the ple with a colored pen or marker. Superfluous The prefix super means over and above. This knowledge is helpful because superfluous means â€Å"above what is needed; extra. â€Å" Surfeit Like super-, sur- is also a prefix meaning over and above. So a surfeit is an amount over and above what is needed. Using apperception, (http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/apperception) link a word you most likely already know, surplus, to the new word, surfeit. These two-syllable synonyms even have the same number of letters! Solidify the meaning of surfeit in your memory. Ample think of the word sample but get rid of the S. and since Ample means more than enough you can think of many samples! Lavish think of marangsvisch with lakris sas! And put the letters LA from the word Lakris instead of S. Profuse(overflodande) think about refuse and proactive, because proactive is â€Å"overflowing† with vitamins. Change the re to pro Prolific, the word productive has the same meaning, so take the PRO from productive and add it with lyric which at least makes me think of lific. So think productive lyric. Myraid (skiftande mangd) think My ride†¦ Group 19 (2nd cluster for Fall Term) Wonderful You Are! Words Relating to Praise and Respect (did you get it? ) Acclaim accolade adulate esteem eulogize exalt extol laud panegyrize revere venerate Laud If you know applaud, then simply connect the new word laud to the word you already know, applaud. The meanings of these two verbs are closely connected. Plaudits means praise. Revere You remember Paul Revere from American History, right? Now, I am sure you’ll agree that it’s only right to respect, or revere one of our nation’s Founding Fathers! Another tip: you can repeat this chant to yourself over and over â€Å"Revere the Reverend. Revere the Reverend. Revere the Reverend† Acclaim think of ass, but with cc, and slajm (slaim)! Accolade think of assa, but with cc and chocolade Adulate ad-ul-ate Esteem think of S team, but with double e Eulogize think ekoloogisk / EU logisk Exalt think Exaltera, without era, since exalterad means vara upprymd like exalt. Extol, ex stol Panegyrize think, pannkakor & risgrynsgrot Venerate Think â€Å"ata vanner†, but switch place, let vanner lead you 2 Vener, and ata-ate.